OpenOffice.org 3.0 Is Officially Here

SNate writes "After a grinding three-year development cycle, the OpenOffice.org team has finally squeezed out a new release. New features include support for the controversial Microsoft OOXML file format, multi-page views in Writer, and PDF import via an extension. Linux Format has an overview of the new release, asking the question: is it really worth the 3.0 label?"

Comments

Best feature for me?

[apodyopsis]

Best feature for me? New support for viewing a document as two pages side by side on the screen.

That alone for me is worth the upgrade for me, as I can now see two full size A4 pages on my monitor at home whilst typing. Thanks guys! that was a major annoyance with me.

OOXML *is* controversial and I expect a flame war - but they have read-only and I suspect it is a justified inclusion simply to keep abreast of current MS Office and help encourage adoption. I predict MS will be coming out with lots of new versions of this format, so lets see them keep pace....

Re:Best feature for me?

[Penguinisto]

Hell, .docx can't be opened by half of a typical office staff now, even sans OOo (you know, where the execs and wannabes thereof rush out and get/requisition MS Office 2k7, but the rest of the office gets by on Office 2k3? Yep - I know there's patches for it, but apparently MSFT hadn't bothered to push it via Windows Update... I think they're kinda torn between wanting to sell 2k7 licenses and trying to push the format.)

Even now, any document that you want to send outside of the company or for others' use, you send in "Office 97-2003" (plain ol' .doc) just to make sure the recipient has at least some hope of reading the thing... I just do PDF; makes it easier all around.

To be honest, read-only of the .docx format is all that OOo actually needs. Then if you get a file ending in .docx, you send back the changes in PDF, then watch as the recipient gets all red-faced and demands to know why you did that (evil grin).

Methinks it'll come to a head sooner or later.

/P

Re:OOXML

[waferhead]

"How could they possibly implement OOXML support in OpenOffice? We've been hearing over and over how the OOXML spec is so convoluted and ill-specified that it is impossible for anyone but Microsoft to implement!"

I know you're a troll, but I'll bite back...

This may be be the first actual OOXML IMPLEMENTATION in a release version of ANY office suite... ;-)

Re:PDF

[betterunixthanunix]

What's an ad?

Re:OOXML

[jcupitt65]

A basic level of OOXML support is pretty easy (you can base something off the existing .doc importers), a complete implementation is very, very hard.

People say that it's a bogus standard because no one but Microsoft can really ever claim to have 100% compatibility.

Re:PDF

[elrous0]

It's one of those things that used to pop up and ask us to buy stuff before adblocker came out.

PDF

[Anonymous Coward]

Send your resume as PDF. As long as even different Word versions can't open other Word files correctly there is no hope formatting will be preserved.

And if 'they' insist on Word files, you wouldn't want to work there anyway, as they are clearly deluded and stupid beyond measure.

Not kidding either, actually.

Re:PDF

[ozphx]

And if 'they' insist on Word files, you wouldn't want to work there anyway

Wrong. It means they are used to paying more than they should for things. Sounds like a great environment for negotiating a starting salary in.

Re:PDF

[Zashi]

Wrong Wrong Wrong. Sorry. When I was applying for the job I have now I had to send in my resume in word format after initially sending it in PDF format. Big deal. I saved as a .doc file and sent it in. I prefer pdf because I can be sure it'll look right but OO.o usually gets MS doc format right for me.

As for not wanting to work for a company that insists on MS docs... well. That really only speaks to how HR works. I work for a staffing company that mainly supplies employees for IBM. I'm a tester in IBM's superlab. I get to play with big iron servers: stuff like quad 6-core machines (yeah, 24 cores in a rackmount system). I use linux for my workstation with no problems. I come in and leave when I wish (we report our time via a webapp) and as long as my work is done and I'm here when I say I'm here management has no problems.

Don't be so quick to judge a company.

Re:PDF

[dmbasso]

If you only look for money, instead of quality of life...

Re:PDF

[Bert64]

Yes...
Using word also forces you to use windows (yes i am aware there is a very different and not fully compatible mac version)... So it takes away your freedom to choose your operating platform...

It also makes it much harder to write standalone scripts to parse the documents, and if you want to use macros (which require the entire runtime bloat of word running) you only have one language you can use, which is going to be deprecated soon (and the mac version has its own incompatible language for macros).

I can be far more productive in my job with a linux workstation and files in open easily manipulated formats.

Re:PDF

[LWATCDR]

The things that pays for the bandwidth, servers, and salaries of those that run Slashdot.
I would really like to white list Slashdot but every time I have tried they put up some stupid animated banner.
Really is too bad since I would bet the ads on Slashdot are for things I may be interested in.